India Family Beheaded in Apparent Revenge for Forbidden Wedding

The bodies of a poverty-ridden Indian man and eight members of his family were found shot, beheaded and floating in a river after an alleged revenge killing for his having married a wealthy woman, Reuters reported.

Police from Bihar, in eastern India, said they have charged 15 people, most of whom are from the bride's family, with the murders.

The killings took place over the weekend after 21-year-old Ratan Mandal eloped with 18-year-old Kanchan Kumari, fearing their families would not approve if they did not keep the wedding a secret.

"The girl's family invited the boy's family for a meeting on the pretext of settling the dispute, but killed all eight and beheaded them," Raghunath Prasad Singh, a senior police officer from Bhagalpur, told Reuters.

Bhagalpur is well known for revenge and honor killings when men and women dare to marry outside their caste, Reuters reported.